Billy Reil

Billy Reil
Born (1979-06-19) June 19, 1979
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence Gramp's Attic in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Billy Reil
Backyard Billy
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Billed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Trained by Reckless Youth
New Jack

Mike Kehner
Debut May 19, 1995

Billy Reil (born June 19, 1979) is an American former professional wrestler currently working the Northeastern Independent circuit in the United States. A longtime veteran of the Tri-State area, he was a mainstay of Jersey All Pro Wrestling during the late 1990s.

He is also a guest writer for wrestling websites such as Wrestling-News.com, most notably his "Reil World" and "Billy Reil Uncut" columns.[1] Reil is always a classically trained actor, having starred in hit films such as "Purgatory" and "The Pit". Some of his craft can be seen on YouTube.

Career

Early life and career

Born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Reil was a wrestling fan growing up and often attended World Wrestling Federation events at The Spectrum during the late 1980s. As a teenager, he began hanging out at the ECW Arena attempting to make contacts in the professional wrestling business and eventually met Angel Orsini, who then introduced Reil to Reckless Youth. He soon made his in-ring debut on May 19, 1995 in a match against his childhood friend Trent Acid. During the summer of 1996, Reil began training with The Pit Bulls before leaving for college the following year.[2]

In 1997, he was given a 4-day scholarship to Penn State University for his athletic skills on the baseball diamond. While at Penn State, Reil continued to wrestle outside the university. Unfortunately, his baseball career was cut short when he was released for pitching an ERA of 16.3.

Jersey All Pro Wrestling and the independents

Reil continued to wrestle and was honing his craft working in Jersey All Pro Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) New Jersey territory, and Grande Wrestling Alliance.

He would team with Trent Acid to defeat Homicide and Kane D for the JAPW Tag Team titles in Bayonne, New Jersey on January 29. The two would defend the titles for a month before losing the titles to Dave Desire and Rick Silver on February 26, 1999.

Reil attended Dory Funk, Jr.'s Dojo in 1999.[2] By 2000, Reil had gained a considerable following in the Northeastern United States and had notable matches including a 3-way dance against Sabu and Low Ki on April 7, 2000.[3]

Later that year, while wrestling at an event for the Central Wrestling Coalition, Reil suffered a separated shoulder and neck injuries in a match against Breaker Morant in South Philadelphia in November.[4] By this time, Reil was single-handedly responsible for establishing the careers of Low Ki, Trent Acid, Homicide and Nick Berk.

During this stint, Reil considered himself the top wrestler on the independent circuit and a sure-shot to make it in WWE as the next Shawn Michaels.

Recent years

During the next two years he would continue competing in independent promotions including Frank Goodman's UXW teaming with Mike Tobin as "Knight Life" to defeat the Christopher Street Connection for the vacant UXW Tag Team titles on April 15, 2005 and was scheduled to defend their titles against Papadon and Havok, the Solution at the Chris Candido Memorial Show in Long Island, New York on May 21 however Reil failed to show up for the event. During the show, Reil's partners Mike Tobin and Trent Acid criticized Reil during an interview in which they mentioned his staged retirement via the Internet earlier that year[5][6] and introduced Trinity and Justin Credible to the "Knight Life" stable.[7]

The following year at an event for National Wrestling Superstars, Reil defeating Corey Havoc, Dan Petit and J.R. in a Four-Way Jobbers Match on December 29, 2006.

Throughout this period of his legendary wrestling career, Reil began acting and starred in many critically acclaimed motion pictures such as "Purgatory", "In the O-Zone", "Cord Jumpers 2", "Shakespeare & Steve" and many more.

In January 2007, he began feuding with Danny Demanto and, while their first encounter on January 26 resulted in a no contest, Reil defeated Demanto and Bison Bravado in a tag team match with Jim Neidhart the following day. The following month, in a match for the vacant UXW X-Treme Championship, he would participate in a 7-way match with Chasyn Rance, Kirby Mack, T.J. Mack, Naphtali, Greatness, Jerrelle Clark later losing to Kirby Mack in Orlando, Florida on February 24.

As of February 2016, Reil announced he is planning a comeback to the ring via his official Twitter account (@BillyReilWWE ), citing he can still keep up with today's talent pool.

As of July 2018, Reil hinted at making one last run in WWE's NXT. Reil claims to be in the best shape of his 40 year old life and looks to dedicate the last stage of his career to his deceased childhood friend Trent Acid. In promotion for his upcoming ring return, Reil posts videos where he displays his amazing acting abilities by portraying a drug addict under the influence

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ Reil, Billy (2004-10-15). "Indy Wrestling Star Billy Reil Presents 'Billy Reil UNCUT'". Wrestling-News.com.
  2. 1 2 Schwan, Brett (2001). "Ten Questions With ... Billy Reil". WrestlingClothesline.com.
  3. ↑ Horie, Masanori (2000-05-08). "View from the Rising Sun: Sabu - Where Will He Go?". Rob Moore, Texas Wrestling Announcer. Archived from the original on 2002-02-23.
  4. ↑ "Biff! Pow! Sock!; Pro wrestling's hopefuls take their dreams to the mat in South Philly.". Philadelphia Inquirer. 20 May 2001
  5. ↑ Reil, Billy (2005-04-11). "Billy Reil talks about leaving UXW". Wrestling Observer.
  6. ↑ Reil, Billy (2005-04-12). "Billy Reil retires". TheSmartMarks.com.
  7. ↑ Burgan, Derek (2005). "Chris Candido Memorial Show". Gumgod.com.
  8. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. ↑ Roelfsema, Eric (2001). "ISPW Light Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  10. ↑ Tsakiries, Phil (2006). "JAPW Light Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  11. ↑ Tsakiries, Phil (2006). "JAPW Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  12. ↑ Tsakiries, Phil; Brian Westcott (2007). "USA Pro Wrestling Light Heavyweight Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
  13. ↑ Tsakiries, Phil; Brian Westcott and; Kriss Knights (2007). "USA Pro Wrestling Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories.
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